Honda Teases The Next Ridgeline, Due Out In 2016

William Maley

Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com

December 11, 2013

Despite a drop in sales and the announcement that the current model will be heading out of the door next year, Honda still believes in the Ridgeline pickup. Yesterday, the automaker released a teaser shot of the next-generation due out in 2016.

The new Ridgeline's design looks to be becoming more truck. Oddly, the teaser shot reminds of the new Chevrolet Colorado. We don't know much more than that, but expect the slow drip of information to begin shortly.

"The next generation Ridgeline will build on Honda's role in creating new value with a new take on advancing form and function in the truck segment. With a clear path forward, Ridgeline will play an even more important role in our future product portfolio and strengthen an already class-leading lineup of light trucks," said Michael Accavitti, senior vice president of automobile operations for American Honda Motor Co., Inc.

An all-new Honda Ridgeline pickup truck will come to market in less than two years and, today, Honda shared a sketch expressing the new truck's styling direction. Honda also confirmed that production of the current Ridgeline (http://automobiles.honda.com/ridgeline/), built exclusively by Honda Manufacturing of Alabama, LLC, in Lincoln, Alabama, will conclude in mid-2014.

Like the innovative first-generation model that earned 2006 North American Truck of the Year and Motor Trend Truck of the Year honors after its fall 2005 debut, the next-gen Ridgeline is being designed and developed by Honda R&D Americas, Inc. at its Los Angeles and Ohio R&D centers.

The Honda Ridgeline broke new ground in the American pickup market with its unique design featuring a spacious five-passenger cabin, smooth ride and handling, and half-ton truck capability. The first truck of its kind to be built on a closed-box unibody platform, the Ridgeline introduced innovative new features to the pickup segment, such as its large In-Bed Trunk® and dual-action tailgate.

"The next generation Ridgeline will build on Honda's role in creating new value with a new take on advancing form and function in the truck segment," said Michael Accavitti, senior vice president of automobile operations for American Honda Motor Co., Inc. "With a clear path forward, Ridgeline will play an even more important role in our future product portfolio and strengthen an already class-leading lineup of light trucks."

Sales of Ridgeline have enjoyed strong momentum in 2013, strengthened recently by the introduction of a new top-of-the-line Special Edition model for 2014, with sales totaling 16,160 units through the first 11 months of the year, an increase of 29 percent.